


reminisce

by bokutoma



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Background Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Canon Compliant, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Jonathan Sims Needs a Hug, MAG 162 spoilers, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, POV Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Pining, Pre-Canon, mentioned archivist!sasha, oh the things we could have had, or at least i say it is, tim stoker loves his friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23624620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokutoma/pseuds/bokutoma
Summary: timothy stoker knows three things:1) his job would be alright if it weren't for his dickhead double-boss2) his new boss is kind of an asshole, but that's nothing new3) he loves sasha james with all of his heart
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 26
Kudos: 164





	reminisce

**Author's Note:**

> i am a tim stoker supremacist
> 
> obligatory apologies for the american spelling of artifact. that's the only one i'm insecure about, at any rate

Maybe Tim cracks a joke about a will-they, won't-they storyline. Maybe he plots murder amidst Sasha's laughing protestations (even though, all things considered, Jon isn't really that bad, except when he's around Martin, which Tim will grudgingly admit is sometimes fair). Maybe he butchers the name he's heard Elias Bouchard say a thousand times every week (and _there's_ a real bastard; Jon knows Sasha deserved his job and actually seems to feel bad about it, but the head of this stupid Institute with every answer but the right one is an antiquated dick).

He does these things, and if anyone, even Sasha, were to ask, he would tell them it's because he loves her with all his heart.

After all, _love_ is very different than _in love_ , and even if he did know his own feelings well enough to say either way, he'd never go so far as to admit it. What is he, soppy old _Martin_?

Regardless, he loves Sasha more than he'd ever thought he'd be able to, given everything that's happened (given Danny). She's smart as a whip, has a mischievous streak almost as wide as his own, and has the most level head of anyone he's ever met before. That "ill-advised hookup", as he'd put it, had been one of the better nights of his life, even though he can't remember the vast majority of it, and most of that is due to her mere presence.

She's special, as cheesy as that sounds, and if it weren't for her, he might have slipped off the edge of mania more times than he could count.

Jon may be an unsociable ass with a penchant for verbal abuse at the slightest provocation, but at least he appreciates the value of Sasha's knowledge and expertise.

If she leaves, he's not entirely certain what he'll do.

For now, though, they have their pub nights, the ones where they both make a competition of getting as spectacularly drunk as they can without getting dirty looks from hapless bartenders and complain about every minor issue in the world. Maybe it's weird to value that time so much, but Sasha isn't one to whine about anything; ridiculous or not, Tim feels a bit special that he gets to be privy to her distaste.

He'll get his work done as quickly as he can. If he impresses Jon with his ethic, maybe he'll actually remember to stamp his approval on something like a dismissal at a reasonable time.

Unlikely, of course, but hey, a man can dream.

* * *

Tim looks at Martin with unabashed surprise. He knows this because he can see his face reflected in the lenses of the glasses he's never been quite certain Martin actually needs, and also because what has just come out of the other assistant's mouth is so fucking batshit that he's not entirely sure he didn't hallucinate it.

" _Jon_ is joining us at the pub tonight?" he repeats, voice pitched high in incredulity. Martin winces as though their boss will leap out from inside the fridge to admonish them for assuming he can't have fun.

"I am too!" Martin says, almost petulant, and Tim forces himself to soften before he says something accidentally cruel. After all, he reminds himself, he doesn't actually hate his new boss, just begrudges him the fact that he unintentionally denied Sasha an opportunity. Back in the bullpen, he hadn't spoken too much with him, but Jon could be surprisingly funny under all the pretentious academic nonsense. Tim had actually thought of him as a bit of a friend, especially after witnessing how little Jon softened to anyone else.

"Well yeah, but you accepting an invitation isn't a surprise. I'm glad you're coming, even. We might even find you someone to get that crush out of your head."

"Oh, leave it alone," Martin snaps, and honestly, Tim is kind of impressed to discover he has it in him. "Otherwise I'm not coming."

"No, say it ain't so!" He drapes himself dramatically against the counter to watch the way Martin has to fight a laugh, warm and full. "I just don't want to deal with him being awful to you for a whole night."

"He wasn't bad when we were all in the bullpen." That's a blatant exaggeration, but Tim won't be the one to mock him for starry vision. "I don't think he's going to mock my citations over beers. He does at least try to be polite, you know."

"If you say so." Regardless, he pilfers one of the sour candies from Jon's clearly labeled bag for the joy of petty retribution. "Really, if he knew what you were coming to bat with, he'd have no choice but to be impressed with you."

Martin shushes him with something like panic on his face, but his eyes have gone dreamy in that particular way they tend to when he brings Jon tea. "He'd _fire_ me, and that would be the end of that."

"Maybe, but then there would be no ethical conflict if he wanted to bend-"

"Shut _up_ , Tim!" Still, there's a sort of patented Stoker magic to the ribbing that ensures Martin flees from the break room with a broader smile than he had been wearing when he'd come in, and Tim will call that a job well done.

He's not positive when he realized that Martin (sweet, bumbling, clever Martin) was nursing a massive infatuation with Jonathan Sims (bitter, precise, unapproachable Jonathan Sims), but he does remember when he'd had enough cheap whiskey in him to ask about it.

"Why Jon?" he'd asked, only slurring slightly and quite proud of himself for it, sometime two years ago, not long after they'd both fully recovered from the office Christmas party and Artifact Storage's absurdly spiked punch. They'd been well enough to drink again, and they'd managed to pull themselves away from the bullpen long enough to get a few more awful drinks in them with Sasha and a few other tolerable researchers.

Now, though, Sasha had decided to grab another round for them, and the paltry few others had long since left, both alone and with new friends. Tim was free to do what he did best, so pry he did.

"What do you mean?" Martin's voice had been quiet, fuzzy at the edges but not quite slurred himself, having made the very sensible decision to have some water as well.

"Don't bullshit me, Marto," he'd continued, ignoring the offended squawk from his coworker. "You stare at Jon like he'll put down his work and sweep you into his arms if you just do it hard enough. Why him? Don't think I've ever seen you talk to him."

"Well, uh, we mostly don't talk," Martin had confessed before he could think better of it. "Oh! But that's not really your business, and anyway, that's unprofessional-"

"I'm not going to _tell him_." By the massive sigh that had practically echoed across the table, this had been a very real concern. "I mean, I get it. He kind of looks like a sexy professor if you squint and ignore the malnourishment. I'm just curious as to what drew you to him."

"Lack of availability," Martin had deadpanned, and then Sasha had come back with the drinks and the matter had been dropped.

Sometimes Tim still wonders, but he remembers the person that had once flipped off Elias's office in passing after the great Mr. Bouchard had denied a librarian long overdue vacation time in the same breath that he had given two practical researchers with frankly evil-sounding names their third paid leave in as many months, and thinks he maybe gets it after all.

* * *

It's a Friday night, and though every pub in the known universe should be crowded, it turns out that Jon knows someone who knows someone who's started a little hipster dive, and it's still relatively unknown.

At least, Tim thinks so, but they still haven't left because of Jonathan fucking Sims.

"Apologies for the delay," he says as he emerges from his office, the one that should be Sasha's by right. "May I speak with you quickly before we leave, Sasha?"

Tim has seen enough iterations of the same conversation to know exactly how this is going to go down: stay in line or I'll make up a reason to give you the boot. He almost wants to say something, but Sasha looks perfectly content, and the last thing he wants to do in a potentially fraught situation is undermine her.

"Of course," she says, and follows Jon to what is almost certainly her - and Tim's - doom.

It's a full five minutes before they emerge again, and Martin has all but worn a hole into the carpeting with his nervous pacing. Frankly, Tim had only been seconds from joining him, but Sasha looks just as placid as she had upon entering and Jon looks relieved, so he hopes it couldn't have gone too disastrously.

As soon as Jon turns away, he mimes a snipping motion that hopefully reads as cutting brakes, but Sasha just shakes her head, a smile on her face, and that's good enough to sate his worry, if not his curiosity.

They walk to the pub, and when Martin asks Jon who, exactly, had told him about this place, he just mutters about it not being important. Tim takes that as a cue to let them walk ahead as he pulls Sasha back, just out of earshot of his whispers.

"The hell was that about, Sash?"

"What do you mean?" She arches an eyebrow at him in a move that might have normally devastated a lesser man, but his "rich inner life" manages to scream about it while leaving the rest of him fully able to interact.

" _What do you mean_ , what do you mean? I thought he was going to kill you!"

Sasha rolls her eyes, and yeah, that move has definitely drained away three years of his life.

"He apologized, actually. He said he values my research abilities and understands that I was... being looked at as Gertrude's successor, and if I had any ideas as to how he could improve in his position, then I was more than welcome to let him know."

"Bullshit."

"Hand to God, Stoker."

"Holy shit." Sasha may have the ability to run with a bit like the best of them, but in this, she is entirely serious, so he believes her. He always does. "Well, are you?"

"I mean, sure. He could use the help, and even though he looked like he was getting a root canal the entire time, I think that was more him being mad at himself for not being the optimal person for the job rather than anything to do with me."

And he'll take that as the best news he can get; Sasha will still probably leave, but there's less urgency now that Jon has been so open with her. Maybe he'll pay for more rounds than he had intended to as a thank you, not that the new archivist would ever know.

When they reach the pub, it's far cooler than anything associated with Jon has the right to be, and Tim claps him on the shoulder. Jon startles less than usual, which he'll take as another win.

"Gosh, boss, I didn't realize you had such good taste!" he says, vowels elongating with the more obvious nature of his teasing. "Take many dates here, do you?"

"Absolutely not," Jon replies, and Martin lights up only to deflate again at the muttered mention of someone named Georgie. "Regardless, I think I'll find a table for us. Whoever gets drinks first can take my card, if you'd like."

"You're a pal." More deftly than Sasha would later give him credit for, Tim snatches the proferred card and loops his arm through hers, tugging her up to the bar with a cheeky wave, leaving Martin alone with Jon.

Too many beers and an ill-advised shot later, Martin is red-faced and giggling at Sasha's mimicry of the last library assistant, who had left under... less than ideal circumstances. Jon's posture is more relaxed than anyone has ever seen it, and he chips in every now and then with a nearly flawless rendition of Elias's friendly disapproval that has them all clutching their stomachs. For once, Tim can almost forget the weight of his mission for Danny, and when Jon flashes an unguarded smile at Martin after a particularly inspired imagining of what the mysterious Lukas family must be like, he almost feels content.

When Sasha's hand tangles with his beneath their table, when she gives him a look like there's nowhere else she'd rather be, he feels like everything might be okay after all.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on twitter @kingblaiddyd where i never shut up about jonmartin


End file.
